History

The Iron Worker and King Solomon

Behold I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work.

Universal Craftsman Council of Engineers History

From The Builder Magazine - April 1922

THE CLEVELAND FEDERATION OF CRAFTSMEN

 BY BRO. O. N. POMEROY, OHIO

      ON the 20th day of October, 1898, the writer called on a brother engineer in his engine room - Benjamin Dettleback was his name - and in the course of a conversation made the remark that an organization of  engineers composed entirely of Master Masons would be an ideal thing. Brother Dettleback was so favorably impressed with the scheme that for the next few weeks we met as often as we could to talk the matter over. At last we decided to canvass the city to discover how many engineers might be eligible. We worked on this until December 10th, 1899, when we inserted a notice in one of our daily papers calling a meeting at the Forest City House.

       We met on December 22, 1899, with twenty-seven present. As a result of the conference we organized, calling ourselves Craftsmen. Owing to the opposition encountered on the part of those Masonic brethren who were fearful lest this might prove an unwarrantable innovation in the Fraternity we found it uphill work. But we were very careful not to infringe upon any of the laws and usages of the Fraternity and we kept at it with much patience until at last the most skeptical conceded our success.

       That which was begun in Cleveland took root in other parts of the country, so that today we have Councils of Engineers from Manitoba to Texas, San Francisco to Boston. A great organization has come into being, known as The Universal Craftsman Council of Engineers. This larger organization came into existence through a conference held in my home at Cleveland on September 14th, 1903, when there were present besides myself nine delegates, their names being: Benjamin Dettleback, of Cleveland; Oscar Mabie and John L. O'Brien of Chicago; John H. Leathers, of Rochester, New York; Charles E. Davey of Detroit; and James Gillespie of Philadelphia. This organization now numbers over sixty councils and is powerful enough to enable Masonic engineers to hold their own in the competitive market. In many of the large cities today they are in possession of from seventy to ninety per cent of all the principal power plants, and in the Chicago district alone 1300 of the most prominent plants are in the hands of Craftsmen. Also, the organization publishes, and sends to each member, The Universal Engineer which is everywhere conceded to be one of the best, if not the best, journal of its kind.

       To return to Cleveland. The Masonic brothers of the city who were not engineers but who followed similar crafts became so much interested in our work, and were so eager to share in the benefits which we had won for ourselves, that they asked for rights of affiliation: but the Constitution of our International made it impossible for us to accept them, so we urged them to form similar organizations of their own. This they did, and now we have nine crafts so organized, among them being workers in electricity, wood, plumbing, steam-fitting, printing, sheet-metal, building, etc. These comprise a total membership of over one thousand, and they are altogether joined in the organization known as The Cleveland Federation of Craftsmen.

This webpage was updated May 21, 2008

UCCE © Copyright  All Rights Reserved.
Web Keeper - Geoffrey L Lasswell